


Ignorant Bliss

by Musical_Fandom



Series: Bad End Oneshots [6]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: Attempted Murder, Bad Ending, Drowning, Fluff and Angst, Headaches & Migraines, Implied/Referenced Brainwashing, M/M, Memory Alteration, Mild Blood, Non-Graphic Violence, One Shot, Psychological Horror, Royal's Bad End, Unhealthy Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-12 18:40:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28515084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Musical_Fandom/pseuds/Musical_Fandom
Summary: Life with Goro is great, it would be even better if he would just let Akira help him when something's obviously wrong with him.
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist
Series: Bad End Oneshots [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2168133
Comments: 6
Kudos: 56





	Ignorant Bliss

It was a beautiful spring day but it didn't hold a candle to Goro. The sun lit up his figure in a way that made him look ethereal. His gentle smile was absolutely radiant. The way his eyes lit up whenever he got excited was enough to make Akira's heart melt.

It was Goro that had decided that a walk in the park would be a fun idea. Akira had agreed, he would have agreed to anything if it meant spending time with him. It was such a perfect day for it. Things couldn't get any better. That was what went through Akira's mind as they crossed the street. Just before a flash of recognition appeared on Akechi's face. Just before a rough shove sent him back into the road and right in front of a car going just a bit too fast-

Akira loved his boyfriend. He loved him so much it hurt. He was so wonderful, even with all his oddities. How he would sometimes zone out, how he would get tripped up by small and seemingly random things, how he sometimes would lose track of the days. They were all just endearing quirks that only made Akira fall deeper in love. He was lucky to have such a wonderful person with him.

"I've been having headaches lately." Goro said, his gaze was somewhere far away.

"Do you want to make an appointment with Takemi? I'm sure she could fit you in." Akira gently took Goro's hand and smiled. The contact brought him back to reality.

"I'm sure I'll be fine." He said with a smile. It was just too wide, just slightly wrong. He blinked and everything was fine. It was just his boyfriend giving him his usual bright smile.

Sometimes Goro would look at Akira like he was in horrible pain. It was terrible to see but usually passed quickly. Akira wondered if it had to do with the headaches that he refused to seek help for.

"Don't you at least want some pain killers?" He had asked when one hit during a visit to LeBlanc.

Goro just waved it off with a strained smile. "It's fine." He said through gritted teeth. Goro was stubborn to a fault and Akira both loved and hated that about him.

Akira sat in the bath house with Goro. The heat of the water made his cheeks flush in the most adorable way. Akira couldn't help but swoon whenever he saw him, he was so amazing.

"It's been a while since we've done this." Akira said.

Goro hummed. "Last time we-" He froze. Something seemed to go through his mind.

"Goro? Are you-" Akira was cut off by hands around his neck. Everything was so hot as he was pushed under the water. He was so shocked he could barely struggle. He hardly registered Goro's beautiful eyes staring down at him with pure hatred above the water. The burning he felt in his lungs pulled his attention away from his wonderful boyfriend. Pain overwhelmed him as he lost consciousness-

Goro had avoided Akira for a couple days. Akira wondered if he had done something wrong when his texts went unanswered. When Goro walked into LeBlanc with no prior warning, Akira couldn't help but feel relieved.

"How are you feeling?" Akira asked. 

Goro gave a pleasant smile. "Fine. I'm sorry if I worried you, I decided to take your advice and go to a doctor. I feel much better." Something about his words felt off in a way Akira couldn't describe. It felt like there was something he was missing, like a joke he wasn't in on. He was swiftly distracted from that train of thought when Goro kissed him over the counter. It was short but so nice. The small kiss was enough to short circuit Akira's brain and leave him at a loss for words. It was strange, Akira knew they had kissed before but it still felt foreign, like it was their first.

As the months went by the weather steadily grew warmer. Spring gave way to summer which Akira wanted to take full advantage of. More free time allowed for the two to meet up on a nearly daily basis. So many perfect days were spent by Goro's side. No headaches or unsettling feelings lingered to ruin the moment. Akira wasn't sure he could be any more happy. Goro seemed to be the same. Akira took in every heart stopping smile, every beautiful laugh, all of it. It was all so perfect, it almost didn't feel real.

Akira loved everything about Goro, including his stubborn insistence to always dress so formally. Even in the late summer heat he still wore slacks and a shirt with a tie. Akira didn't know how he could stand to dress like that all the time but that didn't make it any less endearing.

"Do you own anything other than business casual?" Akira joked. Goro gave a small chuckle as they walked through the (thankfully) air conditioned underground mall. The cool air was refreshing compared to the oppressive heat of Central Street.

"I do, but nothing I can wear in public. I have a reputation to uphold."

"You sound like a celebrity." Akira let out a small chuckle at the idea. Goro, however, stopped in his tracks; all sense of amusement had almost instantly disappeared. Akira saw him grab his head with a pained look. "Are you okay?"

He looked up and gave a strained smile. "I'm just a bit light headed. It's probably just my body adjusting to the temperature change." He said despite the fact that they had been in the cool air for well over twenty minutes. Akira gave him a skeptical look which prompted Goro to speak again. "I'm fine, really." He assured. "Let's just keep going."

Akira was worried. Just when it seemed like Goro had gotten better, something was wrong again. He tried to hide it but Akira could tell he was getting worse like before. Like when- the memories were fuzzy despite how recent they were but Akira knew that something had been bothering Goro in the spring. Now, he was clearly in pain but refused to seek help again. "Why don't you see the doctor?" He asked, it boarded on pleading.

Goro froze up at the mention. "I'm fine." He said through gritted teeth. "It's nothing I can't handle. I promise that I'm fine." Akira didn't believe him but there was nothing he could do. Other than keeping painkillers on hand, which Goro normally refused to take, there was nothing he could do to help his boyfriend and it hurt. Something about it all felt familiar in a way that filled Akira with dread and guilt.

Goro and Akira sat in the park eating ice cream. It had been a wonderful day so far. No headaches, no innocuous sentences that stopped him in his tracks, it was just the two of them enjoying each other's company. He had been zoning out a lot but that was just something he did sometimes. That was something that was easy to dismiss as normal. It was easy to overlook in the hope that Goro was getting better, not worse.

"Are you having fun?" Akira asked as Goro seemed to be looking off beyond the distance. He waited a few seconds but got no response. "Goro?" He grabbed his boyfriend's hand which was enough to jolt him back to reality.

"Huh? Sorry, did you say something?" He asked. He gave a sheepish smile that turned to a frown once he noticed ice cream dripping on his hand.

"I was just asking if you were having fun." Akira looked at his own cone which was nearly finished.

"Of course!" He said with a bit too much enthusiasm. A gentle smile graced his lips, even in the heat, even when covered in a mess of melted ice cream, Goro was absolutely beautiful.

Akira sat in LeBlanc with Goro. Sojiro had decided to take Wakaba and Futaba out for the day and had generously allowed them to loiter there that day. It was just them alone in the familiar cafe, although, it somehow always seemed to be just them. Akira tried to think about the last time he hung out with anyone else but nothing really came to mind, it didn't bother him though. They were still friends, even if everyone had their own lives to live.

The TV behind Akira served as background noise as the two played a friendly game of chess. A friendly game which Akira was losing. By a lot. Akira moved his knight out of the path of e of Goro's bishops. That earned a smirk from Goro which told Akira that was the wrong move. He moved his bishop and captured Akira's queen which just left him with the king, knight, and a few scattered pawns. "Check."

Akira moved his king out of harm's way, not that it would do him much good when his loss was inevitable. Goro took a second to consider his next move, Akira had no doubts that he was just deciding how long the rest of the game should be drawn out. A second passed before he grabbed his queen. He was about to make his move when something on the TV caught his attention. Akira looked up to see the mugshot of someone who looked very familiar. The name displayed read Masayoshi Shido and Akira suddenly remembered the disgraced politician. He turned back to Goro and saw his hand shaking. He stared at the TV with unfiltered rage as he gripped the queen so hard Akira was amazed it hadn't snapped in half from the pressure.

"Goro?" No response. Akira grabbed his shaking hand. "Hey!"

His attention snapped to Akira, his glare now directed at him. It was absolutely terrifying, he'd never seen Goro so angry before. Thinking about it, he had hardly ever seen Goro angry at all. It took him a second to realize what was going on as he blinked and looked around. The intense anger was gone, leaving behind only confusion. "I'm sorry." He said slowly. "I don't know what came over me." He looked down at the board and put his queen down. "Checkmate."

Akira invited Goro to stay the night. He had been wanting to have a sleepover for a long time but there was another reason as well. He couldn't help but be worried. Something was obviously wrong with him but he wouldn't admit it. Goro refused to get help with whatever was bothering him and it made Akira sick with worry. If something happened when he wasn't around- He didn't want to think about it which is why he wanted to keep as close an eye on him as possible.

Goro sat on Akira's bed wearing actual pajamas like a normal person instead of his usual formal clothes. It was weirdly striking how different he looked. In his Featherman shirt and baggy sweatpants he just looked like any other teen. But, why wouldn't he? What in Akira's mind deemed Goro Akechi to be so different from everyone else? Maybe it was just that he was in love, of course Goro would stand out to him. He would always be special to Akira. Akira wanted Goro to know how special and wanted he was. He didn't want to repeat- He forcfully stopped that train of thought, not wanting to know where it was going. There were other things to focus on, like the fact that his very mature boyfriend was wearing merch for a show that was meant for ten year old boys.

"I didn't know you still liked Feather Man." Akira said it in a teasing tone that caused Goro to look away. His cheeks flushed a light red from embarrassment.

"It's an old gift from a friend." He mumbled. The bright print on the shirt told a different story but Akira didn't bother to point that out. There would be plenty of time to tease his boyfriend about featherman later.

It was such a nice night. Akira and Goro had fun watching old movies on Akira's small TV. When they moved on to videogames Akira couldn't help but admire the way Goro's eyes lit up when they were neck and neck. The triumphant smirk whenever he won was more than enough to make Akira throw a round or two. As long as Goro was happy, he didn't really need to know. They stayed up late into the night. They didn't have anything to do the next day so they were free to do as they pleased.

"You know," Goro started suddenly some time well after midnight. "I don't remember the last time I spent the night at someone else's house." A thoughtful look crossed his face. "I'm not sure I ever have."

"Well there's a first time for everything."

Goro let out a small chuckle. "I suppose so. I think the last time I even slept in the same room as someone was when I was in foster care." A small frown appeared on his face.

Akira had never asked much about Goro's past. He hadn't wanted to pry before they knew each other too well and once they were comfortable with each other, he never brought it up. Hearing about a foster home was not what Akira had been expecting, he had always assumed Goro was raised by his parents. Although, thinking about it, he did seem to live alone. It made sense that his parents weren't in the picture.

"Are you okay?" He asked. "We can talk about something else."

"No, it's fine." Goro gave a faint smile. "I have fond memories of the family I stayed with. They took care of me after-" A pause. He seemed distressed.

"You don't have to talk about it if it makes you upset." Akira wanted nothing more than for him to be happy. He walked over to Goro and put a hand on his shoulder to try to provide some comfort to him but Goro only tensed at the sudden contact.

"After my mother..." He trailed off. He looked like he was trying to remember something. His breathing began to speed up. "My mother..." He repeated.

"Goro?" Akira tried to comfort him. He was clearly going into a dark place that Akira wanted to drag him out of.

He put his head in his hands. "Why can't I..." His gaze was far away and unfocused. It was clear he wasn't listening. "That's not- no, that can't be what-"

"Goro!" Akira kept a firm grasp on his shoulder. Goro turned to him wide-eyed. His panic turned to pure rage as he realized who was in front of him.

"Let go of me!" He yelled, his voice was more harsh than anything Akira had ever heard from him. He shoved Akira, the impact from hitting the floor left him breathless. Akira looked up at Goro, terrified. Seeing Akira on the ground seemed to dull Goro's rage into something more conflicted. He grabbed his head again clearly in pain. 

Akira stood up and realized that he was shaking. He made his way to the stairs, unsure of what to do. The way Goro had been looking at him, it sent chills down Akira's spine. He was scared. Scared for Goro and scared of him. It was a horrible feeling. He wanted to leave, run as far away as possible but he also didn't want to leave Goro's side. His indecision left him paralyzed at the top of the stairs as he stared at his boyfriend in horror.

Akira hardly registered when his shirt was grabbed roughly. He could hardly process the words "I hate you" and "traitor" spat with such venom that was so unlike the Goro he knew. He barely felt the pain that came as he hit the bottom of the stairs. The warm feeling of blood pooling around his head was the last thing he felt before he-

Akira smiled as he heard the small bell about the door ring. He looked over to see Goro take a seat at the counter. A small smile lit up his beautiful face in a way that made Akira's heart skip a beat. An entire two weeks spent apart, it was the longest they had gone without seeing each other since they started dating. Akira couldn't fully remember where he had been or why but none of that mattered. All that mattered was that he was there now.

Putting Goro's usual order on the counter, Akira noticed something strange. His red eyes seemed so dull and lifeless. He looked so defeated. Akira blinked and figured it must have been his mind playing tricks on him. The vibrant red eyes that lovingly watched him were so full of life. Goro looked happier than Akira had ever seen him. His wonderful lovely boyfriend looked at him with unmatched adoration. It made Akira feel silly to think there had ever been anything wrong.


End file.
